1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to removing fishing hooks from fish, specifically to such hook removers used from a boat while the fish is in the water.
2. Prior Art
Many anglers have been hooked, bitten, cut and punctured trying to remove fishing hooks from fish. This process is even more dangerous when one leans over the gunwale and tries to remove a hook or hooks from a fish in the water. The process would be safer for both angler and fish if the de-hookers were longer. A heightened sense of safety would make it more likely the angler would remove the hook or hooks from the fish and doing so while the fish is in the water. A greater working distance allows the angler to be less cautious thus reducing release time. The shortened release time would reduce stress for both angler and fish. Leaving the fish in water would eliminate three major concerns: additional stress, removal of protective slime and damage to vital organs.
Most commercially successful fishing hook removers can be viewed on web sites such as Boaters World, West Marine or Bass Pro Shop.
There are two types of de-hookers and they work on different principles. FIG. (2A) shows prior art, a line tension de-hooker. Some examples are U.S. Pat. No. 4,127,957 to Bourquin (1978), U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,513 to Reed (2002) and the ARC Dehooker. An angler pulls on the fishing line to position the hook and maintains tension to keep the hook correctly positioned until the hook is removed. The second type of de-hooker is the grip type. Pliers are a good example of a grip type de-hooker. Grip de-hookers have moving part or parts, which come together to secure the fishing hook. After the fishing hook is secured the fishing hook is pulled and or twisted out.
Standard de-hookers are not designed to release fish from a boat without removing them from the water, as evidence their short length. If an angler does use a short de-hooker they must lean over the gunwale to reach the fish.
The three most frequent problems de-hookers suffer are (1) inadequate leverage to hold a fishing hook secure enough to dislodge said hook, (2) the way the hook is gripped often makes it more difficult to remove and (3) having to use line tension to position the fishing hook and maintaining tension through the removal process.
Grip type hook removers with a 3 to 1 mechanical advantage seem to work ok. However the better the mechanical advantage the better they work. Hooks are designed not to come out easily as evidence their barbs. A strong grip is needed for the fishing hook not to slip when the fishing hook is being pulled and or twisted out.
Many grip de-hookers limit the size of hooks they can successfully remove. FIG. (2B) showing prior art, the end of a poorly designed hook remover or a de-hooker too large for the fishing hook it is to remove. The gap between the fishing hook point (230) and the de-hooker (232) is too small for the flesh and tissue to go through without being torn or the fishing hook straightened. I refer to this situation as “hook locking”. If the de-hooker uses a smaller object to grip the fishing hook, “hook locking” is minimized.
If a de-hooker uses a smaller object to grip the fishing hook a greater mechanical advantage is needed. The fishing hook acts as a lever. The de-hooker with a small gripper limits how far from the fulcrum the force can be applied to grip the fishing hook. This gives the fishing hook a mechanical advantage making it harder to keep the gripper closed. To better explain this, find a level surface such as a table and place an elongated object such as a pencil on the very edge of a square corner. Have both ends of the pencil hanging over the edges equal amounts. Place a finger on top of the pencil securing the pencil against the flat surface. With the other hand grab the end of the pencil and see how easy it is to rock the pencil up and down even though you are pressing down with your finger to keep the pencil from rocking. Now move the pencil an inch or two in from the corner and repeat the process described above. It is harder to rock the pencil because the finger holding the pencil is farther from the edge or the fulcrum. If a de-hooker has a small gripper it is able to grip smaller fishing hooks without “hook locking”. But it needs a better mechanical advantage to stay shut.
Line tension de-hookers work extremely well if the fishing line is strong compared to the hook size and fishes weight. FIG. (2A) shows a prior art hook remover, of this type. The angler grabs the de-hooker (210) in one hand (212) and the fishing line (216) in the other hand (214). Looping the fishing line (216) around the hand (214) makes it easier to apply the tension necessary to position the fishing hook (222) and hold it in the correct position until hook (222) is removed. Once the loop is made the angler grabs the fishing line (216) with the J end (218) of the de-hooker (210). Spreading ones arms creates line tension. Line tension positions the fish (220) and fishing hook (222) so hook (222) can be removed. The angler has his hand (212) above hand (214). By putting hand (214) below hand (212) hook (222) and fish (220) in a favorable position for hook (222) removal. Fish (220) at this point may come unhooked. If fish (220) does not come unhooked one must drop both arms at the same time and jerk up to create more force. This action is repeated until the fish comes unhooked.
The only de-hooker designed to release fish in the water from a boat is made by Aquatic Releaser Conservation ARC Dehooker. This product can be viewed at www.dehooker4arc.com/.
ARC Dehooker suffers from a number of disadvantages:                (a) The de-hooker has a loop on one end, which makes over a complete circle. There is a gap between the over lapping portion of the loop for the fishing line to go through.        (b) Once the fishing line is through the gap it is encircled. The angler then guides the hook remover to the fishing hook. If there is a lot of line tension it will be easy to guide the Dehooker. If the fishing line is a low pound test the line may break before enough line tension can be applied to guide the de-hooker.        (c) Once the de-hooker is in the correct position with fishing hook shank encircled the angler grabs the fishing line and pulls to create line tension. Line tension correctly positions the hook so it can be removed. The angler maintaining tension pushes the de-hooker forward to remove the hook. It takes a lot of line tension to position the fishing hook so it can be removed and if the fishing line is weak it will break.        (d) A hook can be difficult to remove from smaller fish especially if the hook is well imbedded or the fishing hook is large compared to the fish. Fish in water have a near zero buoyancy, as they neither float well nor sink fast. If the fish is not swimming it can easily be moved in any direction. So when an angler pushes to remove the hook, chances are the water does not provide enough counter force to hold the fish and it simply moves along with the de-hooker, leaving the fishing hook in place.        (e) If a lure is used or tackle with multiple hooks it will be hard or impossible to encircle the fishing hook inside the hoop. A lure larger than the circle would prevent the Dehooker from reaching the fishing hook. Multiple hooks would be hard to maneuver around. It would be difficult but the angler could encircle the fishing line after the last fishing hook not imbedded.        (f) FIG. (2A) shows prior art, a line tension de-hooker positioning the fishing hook in a favorable position for removal. It will be hard, because of the Dehooker's longer length, to rotate the fishing line to better position the fishing hook especially with the longer models unless two or more persons worked as a team.        